Consumers Union on Fox-Cablevision dispute

October 18, 2010

Consumers Union on Fox-Cablevision Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Parul P. Desai, policy analyst for Consumers Union, today commented on the ongoing dispute between the Fox TV network and Cablevision over transmission fees that has left the cable company’s New York and New Jersey customer base without the Fox channel. At one point, Fox reportedly blocked its online content from Cablevision’s Internet subscribers in addition to blocking the TV channel.
“In disputes like this one, consumers really are held hostage, because you typically don’t have another cable company in the community, and it can be very expensive and inconvenient to switch to an alternative service. The longer this dispute between Fox and Cablevision plays out, the greater the need is for the FCC to step in and help consumers who are left in the dark. The reports that Fox was preventing Cablevision customers from its online content, not just its TV programming, raise serious questions about consumers’ rights and customer choice,” Desai said.
Consumers Union is the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.Media contact:
David Butler, 202-719-5916
Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, is an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization serving the consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition, and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the public, and protect consumers